Best Canadian Stories 2019 by Caroline Adderson

Author:Caroline Adderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Biblioasis
Published: 2019-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

The next morning Yula sleeps until noon, then walks to Lou Harvey’s and eats scrambled eggs and hash browns and crushes two cans of PBR for courage and inspiration. She meets Ribs outside the motel at two. He wears his leather motorcycle pants, and a bright green button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and a bolo tie. He carries a black Jansport backpack and a thick, rolled-up sheet of white paper. In the daylight, his face still has the same striking softness to it, and without his helmet Yula sees that he is bald. His scalp glistens in the desert sun like the dome of the observatory back home, and his sunglasses hang from his shirt pocket. Ribs hugs Yula, and her face presses into his chest. He smells like cloves and chapstick.

Doreen is real excited for this, Ribs says. Bits of green peak from the cracks in his teeth. He hands Yula the rolled-up sheet. I brought you this to draw on, he says. It’s old wallpaper but it should work, right?

Doreen emerges from the lobby. She wears a purple western shirt, tucked into high-waisted jeans with rhinestones on the pockets. Two tight braids hang down past her shoulders—hair pulled back with such ferocity that it gives her eyebrows a surprised quality.

Hey baby, says Ribs, and puts an arm around her. Doreen looks at Yula with supreme boredom.

Can we walk to your house from here? asks Yula, unsure at whom to direct the question, since it’s unclear to her where either Doreen or Ribs resides.

Oh, says Ribs. Our house is kinda in a state of construction right now. I was thinking we could do it in your room. In your artistic suite. Your studio. That way you can really feel free to let your art flow. He flashes her the same big grin he gave her out on the moonlit highway.

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